Rodney Sorensen

Our sweet Dad, “Papa” Rod passed away peacefully in his home, in the arms of the love of his life, and surrounded by our family on August 20, 2018. We were given the gift of 18 extra years with him when his brother, Uncle Bry, donated one of his kidneys to Dad on January 20, 2000.

He was born May 9, 1958 in Salt Lake City, Utah to Richard and Patricia Sorensen. He had an adventurous spirit from a very young age and has countless memories with his 3 brothers and 1 sister. His darling mother created the perfect home to grow up in, she cared for her kids deeply and allowed them to learn and grow on their own. Lucky for us, she also taught him how to cook! His Dad instilled in him how to work hard and fix just about anything. He looked up to his dad in so many ways, and followed in his footsteps to become a Civil Engineer.

In his high school days Dad had a mustard yellow Jeep that was his pride and joy. Along with his brothers and friends, he loved to drive his jeep to Lake Powell, his family cabin at Strawberry Reservoir, and Moab. And they had to stop at every dirt road and hill along the way!

Our parents met when they both participated in their stake play, “The Sound of Music” when Mom was 10 and Dad was 14. They began dating shortly after he served an honorable mission in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He quickly snatched her up during her senior year of high school and they were married in the Salt Lake Temple, on June 3, 1980 (10 days after Mom graduated from high school). They were sweethearts from the beginning and nothing was going to get in the way of their love story. Even though they would tell you they were different in almost every way, Mom and Dad completed each other and made the perfect whole.

He graduated from the University of Utah as a Civil Engineer, and has been a die hard “Ute” fan ever since. He has had many “Blue and Red” wars with friends, family and neighbors over the years. He worked for Sandy City for 23 years as a Civil Engineer in the Public Utilities Department. Dad was passionate about life and no matter what came his way he lived life to the fullest. He was always positive and optimistic and his love for life was infectious.

Next to our Mom, family was the most important thing to him. He absolutely adored his 12 grandkids and they adored their Papa. Dad loved his movie dates with Jaden and endless teasing with Josiebug. He wasn’t just an amazing Dad to his 6 kids, their spouses, and his bonus kids over the years; but also to his many nieces and nephews. They loved Uncle Rod and he took them in as his own. Dad was known for giving the very best Bear Hugs and could make anyone feel safe in his loving embrace. He instilled in (most of) his kids a love of the outdoors. He loved hunting, fishing, camping, hiking, and boating. We loved watching Dad waterski and in his prime he could touch his shoulder to the water. He later took up golfing and loved to be out on the course with Captain Bob, Josh, and his brothers. Some of our favorite family trips were at our family cabin “The Creamery” in Bear Lake; 4-wheeling, snowmobiling, and eating yummy food. Dad also loved to garden, and he could grow just about anything! He has the most beautiful yard on the street (with the help of mom and her beautiful flowers) and took great pride in his yard. Every year he would grow his own vegetables and make his famous homemade salsa! He passed along this love of gardening to all of us.

Even though in his later years he dealt with many health complications, he never let that dim his spirit. He faced every trial head on and never complained, he truly is a hero in our eyes. We are so grateful for the many doctors and nurses who lovingly cared for our Dad over the years, especially Dr. Jeff Barklow and Dr. Clark Larsen. Our amazing mother stood by his side through every trial and together they conquered the world.

He had a strong testimony of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, especially the Prophet Joseph Smith and of the Book of Mormon. He shared this with everyone he came in contact with. He faithfully served in many church callings and loved every assignment he was given. He was the very best home teacher around, and he adored serving in the Teachers Quorum and as Scoutmaster. He still cherishes the relationships he created with those many boys, and was influential in helping become the men they are today.

He is survived by his beautiful wife Rebecca, 6 children and 12 grandchildren: Jessica and Paul; Caleb, Kassidy, Mikayla, and Haylee Dunford. Josh and Morgan; Gabe, Hadley, Presley, and Mia Sorensen. Janessa and Jason; Warner, Isabelle, and Catherine Waldron. Jennilyn and Wesley; Ella Wihongi. Jaden and Josie Sorensen. As well as his parents Richard and Patricia Sorensen, his mother-in-Love “Grammy” Catherine Pedersen, and his 4 siblings; Steve and Colleen, Bryan and Alison, Jim and Lisa, and Cydney and Dave as well as many other close family and friends. He is preceded in death by his sister Trisha Lynn, his father-in-love Captain Bob, and brother-in-love David Pedersen.

We are so grateful to know that families are forever and we look forward to seeing our Dad again and being with him and all of our loved ones again one day.

You’re invited to a celebration of Rod’s life on Friday, August 24 from 6:30-8:30 pm at the LDS chapel on 1251 West 900 North, Lehi, UT. Please dress casual and “wear red” to celebrate Dad’s love of the “U”! (Even you BYU fans!)

Funeral Services will be held the following day, Saturday, August 25 at 12:00 pm. A viewing will be held prior to the Service from 10:00-11:30 am, at the same location (1251 West 900 North, Lehi). Graveside services with be at Wasatch Lawn Memorial 3401 South Highland Drive.